News

September 26, 2012

Dixon Man Trades Golf Clubs for $10,000 Prize

A Missouri Lottery player and golf enthusiast took a break from the fairway, but he still ended up above par. Harold Goodmon, 64, planned on meeting friends for 18 holes on Sept. 25. Yet, what was intended to be a “quick stop to scan some Powerball tickets” escalated into a road trip to Lottery headquarters in Jefferson City to claim a $10,000 Powerball prize.

“What’s funny is that I left the tickets in the car, and I didn’t check them for over 10 days,” Goodmon recalled, explaining that his winning Quick Pick ticket from the Sept. 15 Powerball drawing was nestled between a series of other tickets he’d been collecting in his vehicle.

The retired military veteran said he was calm when he realized he’d matched four white-ball numbers and the Powerball on a ticket he bought at Mobil on the Run, 122 St. Robert Blvd., in St. Robert. The winning numbers were: 3, 20, 26, 43, 48, and the Powerball was 1.

“First thing I did was sign it,” said Goodmon, adding that his next step was to call his wife to share the news.

“She (Debbie) asked me if I was kidding,” he recalled with a laugh. The couple, who are about to celebrate 46 years of marriage in October, plan to use the windfall on an upcoming anniversary trip to North Carolina.

When asked for advice for fellow Lottery players, Goodmon said he “didn’t know any secrets.” However, he did share a recommendation for other couples. He teased that “the key to a long marriage is to do whatever you can to make your wife happy, and then you’ll both be happy.”

Powerball is a multi-lottery game that features jackpots starting at $20 million.